Sahana Premkumaar, Ryan Rahman, Pranav Subramanian

Sahana Premkumaar, Ryan Rahman, Pranav Subramanian

The Life of
Geoffrey Chaucer

Early Life

• Born - c. 1343 to John Chaucer & Agnes Copton (most likely in London)
• Parents were well-off, owned several buildings in London
• Dad (John Chaucer) a wealthy wine merchant
• Nice education (probably had some exposure to Latin, Greek, and classics)
• 1357 - Became a page to Elizabeth, Countess of Ulster (wife of King Edward III’s son)
• Joined English army’s invasion of France during The Hundred Years’ War  Taken prisoner during Siege of Rheims; King Edward III of England paid his ransom in 1360

King Edward III

Middle Life

• 1366 - Married Philipa de Roet, a lady-in-waiting for king’s wife
• 1367 – Received life pension from King
• Had 4 kids with Philipa (Thomas Chaucer, Elizabeth Chaucy, Agnes and Lewis Chaucer)
• Heavily influenced by his dealings in “exotic” places in Genoa
• Began writing poems in 1370

Portrait of Chaucer

Jobs

• Page, courtier, member of Parliament (elected in 1386 for Kent), collector of scrap metal, justice of peace, clerk
• June 20, 1367- Appointed as valet for the king
• 1372 & 1378 - Was sent on diplomatic missions to other nations like France and Genoa
• Exposed to great men like Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio
• June 8, 1374 - Appointed as comptroller of customs for wools, skins, and hides for London; a lucrative job
• Held the above post for a dozen years
• Worked on some of his most famous works

Chaucer on diplomatic missions

Later Years

• 1387 - Wrote The Canterbury Tales
• Oversaw royal projects & worked with both Edward III and Richard II (Edward III’s successor)
• Death - October 25, 1400

Chaucer’s most famous work

Legacy

• Father of English Poetry
• First poet to be buried in the “Poet’s Corner” of Westminster Abbey
• Decasyllabic couplet used in The Canterbury Tales evolved into the heroic couplet, commonly used for epic and narrative poetry in English
• Pioneered the regular use of iambic pentameter

Chaucer’s Tomb at Westminster Abbey

Bibliography

Fleming, John. "College Board." AP Central. CollegeBoard, n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2014. <http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/homepage/21974.html>.

"Geoffrey Chaucer." BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 01 Dec. 2014.<http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/chaucer_geoffrey.shtml>.

"Geoffrey Chaucer." Poets.org. Academy of American Poets, n.d. Web. 2 Dec. 2014. <http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/geoffrey-chaucer>.

Laird, Judith. "Biography Of Geoffrey Chaucer." Critical Insights: The Canterbury Tales (2010): 6-10. Literary Reference Center. Web. 2 Dec. 2014. <http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lfh&AN=57400606&site=lrc-live>.

Sanna, Ellyn. "Chaucer, Geoffrey." In Harold Bloom, ed. Geoffrey Chaucer, Bloom's BioCritiques. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 2002. Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 2 Dec. 2014. <http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&WID&SingleRecord=True>.

Strohm, Paul. "Chaucer, Geoffrey." World Book Advanced. World Book, 2014. Web. 2 Dec. 2014. <http://www.worldbookonline.com/advanced/article?id=ar108040>.

Picture Sources

• http://www.openlettersmonthly.com/issue/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/KingEdwardIII.jpg
• http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large/5-geoffrey-chaucer-granger.jpg
• http://home.gwu.edu/~jhsy/wma-tomb.jpg
• http://cdn.rainbowresource.netdna-cdn.com/products/000645.jpg
• http://people.umass.edu/eng2/images/auth/chaucer.jpg